Process of producing aluminum carbonitrid.



Sr PIIACOCK PROCESS OF PROD'CUIM? ALUMINUM GARBONITRID.

APPLICATION rum) SEPIJ 1012,

1,129,509. Patented Feb. 23, 1915 UNITED STATES PATENT oEE oE SAMUEL PEACOCK, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL AGRICUL- TURAL CORPORATION, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING ALUMINUM CARBONITRID.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

mplication filed September 7 1912. Serial No. 719,156.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL PEACOCK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Producing Aluminum Carbonitrid; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a process of producing aluminum carbo-nitrid from aluminum oxid and gaseous nitrogen, and has for its object the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen in a manner less expensive than the methods heretofore proposed.

With this and other objects in View the invention consists in the novel steps constituting my process more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which the figure is a diagrammatic view of a furnace suitable for carrying out my process. 1 indicates any suitable furnace walls but preferably of refractory material having a carborundum lining 2, and a metal casing 3.

4 indicates a water jacket surrounding a lower extension of the casing 3, and located within the chamber 5 of the base brick work 6.

7 represents inlet and exit pipes for the water supplied to the water jacket; 8, 9 and 1-0 represent electrodes for passing a suitable current through the charges 11; 12 suitable gas tight pipes for feeding the charge to the furnace; 13 an inlet pipe for the gaseous nitrogen or producer gas that is fed to the furnace; and 14 a suitable con nection with a moanometer for indicating the pressure of gas inside the furnace.

15 indicates a suitable meals for discharge of finely divided aluminum and carbon suitably proportioned, preferably briquet the same, and introduce the briquets through the feed pipes 12. Unless the charge is briqueted considerable difficulty 1S liable to be experienced in maintaining an efficient atmosphere of nitrogen in all parts of the furnace. And since the carbo- Should an insuflicient proportion of nitrogen be present, instead of the carbid AhC being converted into the carbo-nitrid form, it ma dissociate to a lower carbid such as Al, which does not fix nitrogen as a carbo-nitricl. Further by briqueting the charge not only is a uniform distributicn of nitrogen assured, but there is secured a uniform flow of gas which avoids channeling; further, briqueting also tends to prevent or lessen the volatilization of the compounds formed After the carbo-nitricl is formed in the high temperature Zone between the electrodes, it passes down by, gravity out of said zone to the lower part of the furnace, Where it is gradually cooled by the water jacket 4 in an atmosphere of nitrogen, or producer gas, as the case may be. From this latter position it is continuously re moved from the furnace by the conveyor 15, and since the material is constantly fed in at the top, the process is a continuous one. Of course, any other suitable type of fur nace than the one illustrated may be employed.

Eithpr nitrogen gas or producer gas may be employid as above stated, but I prefer producer gas on. account of its cheapness. Such gas contains on the average about nitrogen, N,, and 40% carbon monoxid, CO, and when the nitrogen is removed by my process the producer gas is greatly improved and enriched, and can also be utilized for combustion or other purposes. That is to say, from the carbo-nitrid equation, above, it is evident that for each volume of nitrogen gcnis l l I hon IDOIlOiilCl M iii of carbon anonoxi'f cci'uin inc r rin 60?? 02 cnrliacn .Ll rigincl that th p nioxid, can prcclnct.

In (Jill'IV in order to amid 1 sei'iong rcinrr ftion-it is desirable to nininmin such a iiun' m niircgen through tlic furnaca that an; partial I'JIQF-SlLPB of the carbon monpxid present will not exceed say lSf -firp 500 millin'ieiicrs mercury. This can be readily 1a011iplishccl after (lcfic inining frz im T the percentage 0 run-bun precept,

(luccd may be vari w of in snpcrn: l on: 1 Mid b in. iii

z lal .4

and L in m zilim'c i uni iii by the What 1 claim mun in prcscr a r; i lllllililllr in an :liifiwspheiu containing free an to a. temperature surhcient to proczirbc-nnrid, substantially as deof producing aluminum "l1 in preparing a m and carbon; forming p10 1 and subjecting the mosplicrc devoid cf free *icnt ti.) produce said car- 1 -l. as described.

producing aluminum in preparing a turn (if aim 2111f} carbon; subjecting i nc in mi mum )hcrc containing nitr0- 5 i substantially devoid of free-oxygen,- m n. rcmpcrziturc suiiicient t0 produce said -nitri l; :mil cooling said carbo-nitrid nbstantially as de- L .7; of producing alumina .riri, nlncli consists in. preparing a ji rllllillllfi and carbon; subjecting unc in an limos-{mere of producer ga s wtm'e Sui! int to produce said ziduaily cooling said in an ziL'iYIOiiIJl'lQLG inerL 0 said nitially as, (icscribcd.

producing ca bo-nitrid, g 'ing i mixture of iiiiiinimi :1 v 7 and subjecting the yiilillt, in an utnmsp icrc cuntaining free nitr0'- i to n rvmywmunc anilicicnt to produce.

will so lac cvolvml wliilu maintaining iii p10: z'c oi the. cariymmmnoxid Oslo-gr 00 nniiimcteravt of mercury; substurfiilln :15 di "llbfftl.

l1: icgstinwny n ,lfinl T aiiix" my signa- 0i JVCH) witnesses.

SAM! Will IEACOCR.

CUR'HS Lmlwmn,

'l. Ii. Vi 'rri I iinsrocm.

thereby cunning carbon-- 

